Top 5 Ways To Come Out Of An Entrepreneurial Slump

Entrepreneurs are generally high-energy visionaries that see a world of possibility before them. Overall, they tend to be glass is half full types of people rather than glass is half empty. At the end of the day, however, they are human and can experience slumps just like anyone else. Sometimes, these slumps are the result of stagnation and sometimes they are the result of one too many failures. Winston Churchill said that success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm, but that doesn’t always come easily. No matter what the reason for your slump, here are 5 great ways to come out of an entrepreneurial slump.

1. Try something new

The innate nature of an entrepreneur is that they are a person who is constantly blazing new trails. Generally, they aren’t happy with the tried and true or with doing the same thing over and over every day. Whether you need to sell a business you’ve already built, back burner a project that seems to be stalled and work on something else for a while, or simply take a break for a bit and tackle a longstanding problem with fresh eyes, trying something new can reawaken the creative juices. Sometimes this might mean literally looking at something in a whole new way. This can include laying on the floor and looking up, getting high up and looking down at something or even kneeling down and looking up. Perspective changes everything so do whatever you need to, to get a new perspective.

2. Do something different

A slump can also be caused by being in a rut. You may have tried something in the past that didn’t work but might work now. Sometimes, you don’t necessarily need to do something new as much as you just need to change things up and do them differently. You may be in the habit of arriving every day in your office promptly at 9:00 am and leaving promptly at 6:00. You might try coming in at noon and leaving at 9:00 pm for a week. This doesn’t mean you need to make this a new habit, it just means you might give it a try for a week. Changing things up can help you see things you didn’t see before and give you a new perspective.

3. Focus on the positive

While entrepreneurs may lean more towards being glass is half full people, it doesn’t mean that pessimism can’t sneak its way in from time to time. When you focus on everything that is going wrong or not working, it can be easy to feel like everything is going wrong, which can be discouraging. When you focus on everything that is working well or going right, however, you immediate change your perspective. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to get you out of your slump and back on track again.

4. Take a break

Sometimes, you may need to just walk away for a bit. Whether that means taking the rest of the afternoon off to go play golf, getting away for a weekend or going on a world cruise for two months all depends on how big your slump is. Sometimes, you simply need time away from all of your day-to-day decisions to plan your next move or brainstorm your next big idea. A change of pace and a change of scenery might provide just the inspiration you need.

5. Learn something

One thing most entrepreneurs know is that there is almost no knowledge or skill they can’t use. In many cases, something they learn in one arena of their life opens up entirely new pathways in another. For instance, you may experience a major breakthrough in your personal life which helps you be a better leader at work or have a medical crisis which gives you inspiration for guiding your business in a new direction. You might take a coding course which gives you inspiration for an entirely new kind of app for your business. Thanks to online learning, you don’t even need to interrupt work to go take a class somewhere. In fact, you can always be learning something new via online courses. You just never know what arena your next big idea might come from.

Entrepreneurial slumps generally occur when things become hum-drum or mundane. The best way out of a slump is to change things up and make them new, fresh and exciting again. It may mean selling your business and starting a new one. It might mean moving your offices, partnering with another company or business or even heading in an entirely new direction. Whatever it may be, change is generally the only way out of a slump.

About Sam Shefrin

Online entrepreneur, dedicated to self-improvement and leadership. I've been managing virtual teams for over 20 years. I enjoy building websites and my latest projects include Lineups.com & DepthCharts.com. Happy to share my experiences and ideas to help those coming up.

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About the Author

Welcome to my blog! I've been an online Entrepreneur for over 12 years and have learned a few things along the way. I've made a ton of mistakes and found some processes that work. This site is essentially an online journey for me and I hope it helps you in some way. Please drop me a line and let me know what you think. Read More…